Michelle Carter Sentenced To 2.5 Years In Prison For Texting Boyfriend To Commit Suicide

After being found guilty of driving her boyfriend to suicide, Michelle Carter was sentenced to prison on Aug. 3. She’ll now serve more than two years behind bars for her role in Conrad Roy’s death.

The fate of Michelle Carter was sealed in a Massachusetts court on Aug. 3. The 20-year-old woman was sentenced to 15 months in prison after she was convicted of involuntary manslaughter for encouraging Conrad Roy III, 18, to kill himself in 2014. Bristol County Juvenile Court Judge Lawrence Moniz had a chance to hear directly from Michelle (and others) before making his decision. Considering that Michelle could have received up to 20 years in prison, it wasn’t a decision the he took lightly. Ultimately, he decided to give her a 15-month sentence. Michelle stared blankly as she received her sentence, according to the New York Post, as Judge Moniz called it “a tragedy for two families.” Roy’s

It was Judge Moniz who found Michelle guilty on June 16, as she had waived her right to a trial by jury. During her six-day trial, the texts she sent to Conrad, the ones that encouraged him to commit suicide, were read aloud. “It’s okay to be scared and it’s normal. I mean, you’re about to die. … You just need to do it Conrad. The more you push it off, the more it will eat at you. … You just have to do it, Conrad. It’s painless and quick.” Conrad ultimately poisoned himself by inhaling carbon monoxide in his pickup truck, all while Michelle listened over the phone as he died. Michelle failed to alert the authorities or notify Conrad’s family about the death and such, she was ultimately found guilty.

There is no law in Massachusetts on encouraging someone to commit suicide, so the “involuntary manslaughter” charge was seen, by some legal experts, as a bit of a stretch. “She will be given little, if any, jail time, in my view,” Joey Jackson, a criminal defense attorney and CNN legal analyst, said before the sentencing. “The crime was horrific, but based upon her youth, I believe the judge’s sentence will focus more on rehabilitation than on punishment. Though some punishment would be appropriate — and I think the judge also needs to deter copy cats.”

Michelle was tried as a juvenile because she was 17 at the time. Her defense attorney argued that she was “dragged” into Conrad’s suicide, claiming he had long been planning to kill himself. “You’re dealing with an individual who wanted to take his own life.” Joseph Cataldo, the defense attorney, said during the trial. “He dragged Michelle Carter into this. It’s sad. It’s tragic. It’s just not a homicide.”